Example Programs

B.Phil. students may integrate diverse topics, fields, and methodological approaches in their studies. These could include, but are absolutely not limited to:

• Topics – Social justice and equity, media and technology, health and wellness, environment and sustainability, globalization, innovation
• Fields – Arts (performance, visual, musical), natural science (biology, math, physics), social science (psychology, sociology, economics), humanities (history, literature, philosophy), business (entrepreneurship, finance, marketing), engineering
• Methodological approaches – Experiments, observation, survey, creative expression, archival research, interpretive analysis, case study

Examples of majors students have created include:

• Community Leadership
• Sociological Impacts of Technology Change
• Food Studies
• Social Dynamics
• Applied Ethics
• Environmental Energy Engineering
• Non-Profit Management
• Historic Preservation of Architecture
• Ethnobotany
• Global Media Studies
• Intersections of Political Science, Religion, and Philosophy
• International Development and Africa
• Biblical Studies and Intercultural Communication
• Forest Conservation and Creative Writing
• Social Justice and Global Development
• 21st Century Education
• Social Entrepreneurship

Examples of capstone projects students have completed include: a guide to creating greener buildings at Penn State, developing an online platform connecting students in State College with students in China, a photomosaic and history of Black student protests, a case study of grassroots reconciliation in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, an experimental investigation of voice pitch variation in human mating, an interview study of veterans about military values, a philosophical analysis linking pragmatist theories of education to neuroscience, and much more.

See our alumni profiles for more detailed examples of recent projects.